The ADA Protects Job Applicants with Disabilities

Posted on Sep 15, 2014 8:00am PDT

A company in New Jersey recently settled a lawsuit filed by the EEOC alleging a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") when the company rescinded a job offer to an individual upon learning that he was deaf. The ADA was enacted in 1990 and provides civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities, making it unlawful to refuse to hire a qualified individual because he is disabled.

The EEOC charged that the individual applied for a position, for which he alleges he was qualified, as dietary aide/assistant cook at a nursing home. The applicant was offered employment. After the offer, however, he attended additional compulsory interviews and the employer then rescinded the employment offer allegedly because of his hearing impairment.

An EEOC attorney stated, "This case sends a message that is at the heart of the ADA: job applicants with disabilities should be judged on their ability to do the job and should not be rejected based on preconceived, unfounded notions about their limitations." Read entire press release.

* Searcy Business Litigation & Employment Law represents clients in the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia, including Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County, the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax. The firm also serves clients in the Virginia counties of Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Frederick, Madison, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren, as well as the cities of Fredericksburg and Winchester, Virginia and more.

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